Monday, December 8, 2008

Favourite Reads of 2008 - The Librarian's Pick Part Four. . .

Back to Calgary we go. Today's list comes from Sarah Jones, the Customer Services Manager at the Central Branch of Calgary Public Library.

My top ten reads for 2008:

Exit Music by Ian Rankin
I don’t know what I’m going to do without Rebus, but I did enjoy this final installment in the series. When I end up in Scotland – my first stop will be at the Oxford Bar to honour this character who feels like a slightly flawed old friend.

Still Life by Louise Penny
A cozy mystery set in a small town that I didn’t want to leave – so I immediately put the other two books on hold.

Contrary Infatuations by Dymphny Dronyk
One of the annual Quartet launch by Frontenac House, a book of poetry that evokes the plains of Alberta where farmers and oil companies face off over land.

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
A wonderful collection of 40 vignettes of people who are changed by the freezing of the Thames over the centuries.

The Outlander by Gil Adamson
Set in the early 1900’s, a young woman flees through the mountains and the forest, and ends up in the town of Frank, right before the slide. Great!

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

The queen becomes obsessed with reading and doesn’t want to do anything else. My favourite part is when she tours Canada and her books get lost, only to become a display in the library in Calgary! Very funny.

The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
The zaniness of this road trip really resonated with me, and I loved Thebes, the precocious young girl who is trying to keep it all together.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
I love anything set in Scotland, particularly if it includes a bit of history. I couldn’t
put this book down.

Turtle Valley by Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Set in the Okanagan during the summer when forest fires threatened, I loved the way the fire moved the story along and almost became another character in the novel.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrow
I love letters, and the people in these make the story – they seem like your next door neighbours, both wonderful and slightly nutty.

I’m the Customer Service Manager of the 4th Floor of the Central Library at Calgary Public Library. The 4th Floor holds Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels, History, Literature, Travel, Local History, and Genealogy – so I’ve got the best of the library (in my humble opinion…) I’m a passionate reader and my favourite place to read is in my big leather chair, with my cat on my lap and a glass of wine beside me. Here’s hoping you can spend time this holiday season doing the same - Sarah Jones.

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